<s>
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
for	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
written	O
by	O
Camilo	O
Wilson	O
and	O
distributed	O
by	O
Lifetree	B-Protocol
Software	I-Protocol
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Camilo	O
Wilson	O
was	O
an	O
author	O
and	O
computer	O
consultant	O
who	O
in	O
1981	O
planned	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
new	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
to	O
write	O
a	O
book	O
about	O
the	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
to	O
receive	O
it	O
in	O
California	O
,	O
he	O
purchased	O
IBM	O
's	O
EasyWriter	B-Device
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
—	O
a	O
launch	O
title	O
for	O
the	O
PC	O
—	O
and	O
later	O
said	O
that	O
its	O
"	O
horrors	O
...	O
were	O
such	O
that	O
I	O
decided	O
to	O
write	O
my	O
own	O
...	O
to	O
get	O
the	O
book	O
done	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
writing	O
the	O
new	O
application	O
in	O
Pascal	B-Application
in	O
less	O
than	O
four	O
months	O
Wilson	O
borrowed	O
$	O
15,000	O
to	O
market	O
it	O
,	O
and	O
formed	O
Lifetree	B-Protocol
Software	I-Protocol
with	O
his	O
girlfriend	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
debuted	O
at	O
the	O
spring	O
1982	O
West	O
Coast	O
Computer	O
Faire	O
and	O
,	O
as	O
Plainwriter	B-Protocol
,	O
in	O
a	O
small	O
listing	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
issue	O
of	O
PC	O
Magazine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
next	O
issue	O
Lifetree	O
described	O
the	O
renamed	O
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
in	O
a	O
full-page	O
advertisement	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
high	O
performance	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
"	O
with	O
which	O
"	O
you	O
cannot	O
erase	O
data	O
unintentionally	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EasyWriter	B-Device
was	O
so	O
poor	O
in	O
quality	O
that	O
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
was	O
for	O
a	O
while	O
,	O
as	O
Andrew	O
Fluegelman	O
wrote	O
in	O
late	O
1982	O
,	O
"	O
the	O
only	O
fully	O
functioning	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
available	O
for	O
the	O
PC	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
compete	O
with	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
which	O
appeared	O
on	O
the	O
PC	O
six	O
weeks	O
after	O
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
,	O
Wilson	O
emphasized	O
its	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
early	O
1984	O
Lifetree	O
had	O
40,000	O
customers	O
,	O
$2	O
million	O
in	O
sales	O
—	O
about	O
half	O
to	O
companies	O
—	O
27	O
employees	O
,	O
and	O
released	O
an	O
enhanced	O
$295	O
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
Deluxe	O
,	O
also	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
running	O
OS-9	B-Operating_System
and	O
,	O
as	O
GEM	B-Protocol
Write	I-Protocol
,	O
to	O
GEM	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
published	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
until	O
May	O
1989	O
when	O
due	O
to	O
profitability	O
problems	O
,	O
the	O
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
product	O
line	O
was	O
sold	O
to	O
employees	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
company	O
formed	O
with	O
the	O
name	O
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
Inc	I-Protocol
.	I-Protocol
</s>
<s>
Although	O
criticizing	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
headers	O
or	O
footers	O
,	O
he	O
stated	O
"	O
If	O
I	O
needed	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
novice	O
using	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
within	O
an	O
hour	O
,	O
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
would	O
be	O
my	O
choice	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
May	O
1983	O
review	O
of	O
several	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
,	O
BYTE	B-Application
described	O
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
as	O
"	O
simple	O
in	O
design	O
...	O
quite	O
straightforward	O
to	O
use	O
for	O
minor	O
writing	O
projects	O
...	O
just	O
enough	O
features	O
to	O
get	O
most	O
jobs	O
done	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
noted	O
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
's	O
ability	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
a	O
64K	O
computer	O
and	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
the	O
lowest	O
price	O
,	O
$195	O
,	O
but	O
advised	O
those	O
who	O
primarily	O
used	O
their	O
computers	O
for	O
word	O
processing	O
to	O
consider	O
other	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
4	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Volkswriter	B-Protocol
Scientific	O
:	O
Simple	O
,	O
But	O
Not	O
Quite	O
Complete	O
NEW	O
PRODUCTS	O
by	O
David	O
Chan	O
The	O
Scientist	O
1987-10-19	O
,	O
1(23 )	O
:20	O
.	O
</s>
